Comparison of Oxidation of Hypophosphite on Platinum and Nickel Electrodes in Alkaline Media

The electrochemical oxidation of hypophosphite ions in 0.1 mol/L NaOH media on polycrystalline platinum and nickel electrodes was studied by SNIFTIRS (Subtractively Normalized Interfacial FTIR Spectroscopy ) as well as by cyclic voltammetry. It was concluded that hypophosphite oxidation on platinum is in a different way from that on nickel . PO32-at less positive potentials or PO43-at more positive potentials was detected as oxidation product on Pt , while HPO3-as oxidation product on Ni.The differences of hypophosphite oxidation on two metals were disscused and the corresponding reaction mechanism was proposed.